Runway: Not Your Agency’s Retainer Service

EY’s Runway program has exploded in the last year. Learn why it’s become the must-have service of our top clients.

If you’ve worked with or shopped around any sort of traditional agency, you’ve heard it, the R-word. Retainer. But what does that mean? It isn’t just that thing your mom paid for after your braces came off, that you never wore and eventually threw away on accident.

Retainers at a traditional agency are usually paid monthly, and are established as a percentage of a company’s total marketing plan, while any projects are billed separately at an hourly rate. Large companies with vast marketing budgets accept retainers as a fact of life, and know to retain a valuable and talented agency, they’re a must have.

However, for a lot of the small businesses that we work with, they’re a little intimidating. Clients often tell me they want to avoid recurring payments and ongoing commitments if at all possible. Their businesses are streamlined, and overhead needs to be cut anywhere possible.

So why EY’s version of the retainer program, Runway, grown from 3 clients to 20+ within the last year?

You get what you pay for, literally.

Runway clients pick a package of hours that works for their needs as small as 10 hours a month, and as big as 50 hours a month or more. Those hours are then applied directly to design, development and analytics deliverables that our clients need. The Runway Consultant’s time and knowledge are available to our clients no additional charge. What other industry does that? None that we know of.

You’re a priority in our production queue.

Runway clients experience a turnaround time on their items of 2 to 3 business days, whereas normal requests coming through the Studio can expect a 5 to 7 business day turnaround. That being said, Runway clients also reserve the right to have the occasional same-day-turnaround emergency. We will do everything in our power to meet your deadlines and exceed your expectations when it comes to production timing.

No invoicing hassles AND a discounted hourly rate

Normal requests coming through the studio have to get quoted, invoiced, and then get put in the production schedule. Runway clients pay for their hours up front at the start of the month, and then we track what you use, and what you have left. You only pay for the time that you use, and the best part is, Runway clients get a discount on our hourly rate. The longer the commitment, the more you save.

Expert knowledge, always on call

Think of our Runway Consultants as eCommerce experts who are at your disposal. Wouldn’t it be nice to know what other merchants are doing? What the new technology is? Let us be the experts in our industry, so you can continue to focus on yours.

In addition to Monday through Friday availability, Runway Consultants are on call for their clients. What does that mean? A real cell phone number, and someone to assemble the troops should an emergency occur after hours. When was the last time you could count on that level of service?

So when you’re thinking of how to take your business to the next level, think of Runway.